Klesl knew that Ferdinand II favoured the counter-reformation, which aimed to address some of the Church's institutional problems that had been raised by the Protestant noblemen whose support was instrumental to the Holy Roman Empire's operations. Habsburg terms Philip's envoys at the court of the Holy Roman Empire were Baltasar de Zúñiga and Íñigo Vélez de Guevara, 7th Count of Oñate. Philip III was willing to accept Ferdinand II as successor of Matthias if certain conditions were met. Philip's greater priority was the Eighty Years' War and his desire to secure the so-called Spanish Road, a land route connecting the Spanish possessions in northern Italy with the Spanish Netherlands. The sea route to the Spanish Netherlands was insecure, since much of the Spanish Armada had been lost and the Scheldt river was blocked by the Dutch Republic. While these setbacks had caused Philip to agree to a suspension of hostilities in Europe (the Twelve Years' Truce), the Eighty Years' War was still raging in the colonies and Philip intended to resume hostilities in the European theatre rather than accept the peace conditions proposed by the Dutch Republic. Philip also wanted to strengthen his position in Italy by acquiring principalities around its Duchy of Milan and by gaining direct access to the Mediterranean Sea via towns like Finale Ligure, allowing it to bypass the Republic of Genoa. Preliminary terms were agreed between Philip and Ferdinand in January 1617, calling for the cession of several Holy Roman fiefdoms in Italy, but did not initially include Alsace. The treaty was concluded on 29 July 1617. Philip III agreed to renounce his claims to the thrones of Bohemia and Hungary, so long as the princes of the Kingdom of Germany did elect Ferdinand II as ruler of the Holy Roman Empire upon the death of Emperor Matthias. In return, Ferdinand II promised Philip III the town of Finale Ligure, the Principality of Piombino (both of which were already occupied by Spain), as well as cession of Austrian Habsburg rights to Ortenau and Alsace. The Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs kept the Oñate treaty secret from Cardinal Klesl. Implementation and consequences With support of Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria, and no opposition from Philip III of Spain, Ferdinand II managed to win the Bohemian and Hungarian crowns in 1617 and 1618, respectively. This placed Ferdinand in a strong position to win any future election for Holy